The beginning and end of any deployment is hectic. You hurry up and you wait. You drag all your stuff. You may or may not eat at meal times and you may not be comfortable. Today was one of those days.
I woke up way before my alarm this morning. I might be a touch excited about going home. I showered and put the last of my things in my suitcase. I'm so happy that everything fits. I carefully packed my birch basket in some tshirts and taped up the priority mail box. Much safer than me trying to get it home. My bags are due at 0800 at the front door. I get there at 0801 and there are already several folks waiting. Maybe we are all a little excited.
The truck arrives and we load the bags. It will be just me and my backpack for the rest of the day. I check out of the hotel and join some friends at the restaurant next door. I have already had some MRE leftovers for breakfast. It is a little pricey to eat out here. I sit with them and enjoy my 2 dollar sprite. A treat for the last day. Actually it was free because my SRA picked up the tab.
She and I split from the group and walk up Shore Ave. The post office is open and I mail off my basket. I'm getting lighter by the minute now. We walk up the shore line and then turn inland for the Armory. There is a sheet of ice under the light layer of snow that feel in the early morning and I slip but don't fall numerous times. I have survived 15 days in Alaska and only fell once on the ice. I had been religious about wearing my yak-trax. If you do not know what they are google them. If you live in Arkansas or any place it ices, buy a pair on ebay. You will seriously not fall on ice or snow with these things on the bottom of your shoes. I have no idea why they are not wildly popular back home.
The armory is buzzing with people. I try to get on the internet for a quick email fix but it is already off. First they announce we are holding here until 1100. It's more comfortable than the hangar. Short time later, they announce that the C-130 has arrived early and we are leaving in 15 minutes. Oops. A couple of folks have decided to take a walk. They have obviously not done this before.
While waiting, I find the folks selling the operation coins. For civilians, we in the military have coins that signify our unit or a deployment or an important person. I have a collection of them in my living room. Sometimes you buy them and sometimes you are "coined". Coining someone means you give them the coin to recognize their hard work. I think the coin means more when you are coined. They only ordered 200 coins for the trip and there are 250 of us. They ran out pretty fast. They are now taking names and addresses and promise to mail them. I bought my coin the first day. I didn't expect to work with someone that I would like well enough to buy a second one. I decided a couple of days ago that I wanted to coin my SRA (senior Airman) for her hard work in clinic. I call her over and have her fill in the info. I pay for it before she can and explain that I appreciate her hard work.
Slowly we get moved to the hangar and it is not long before we are loading. We are doing it "hot" which means they keep the engine running. We enter the butt of the C-130 and find seats. Two hours later we are in Anchorage. Find your luggage and get on another bus. Transport to a local hotel until you catch your commercial flight home. We missed lunch somewhere in there but I didn't care.
I joined up with a couple of folks for a trip to Walmart for last minute essentials. Next, dinner at TGIFridays and a chance to eat fresh food again. I could have eaten anywhere and been happy. It was sad to hug them one by one and say good bye. You really bond with folks when you deploy and spend all your time together. I've made some good friends and look forward to keeping in touch.
My flight leaves in a couple of hours. Apparently it is popular to leave Anchorage at midnight to catch the morning connections in the lower 48. After 17 hours in the air and in airports I will be back in Little Rock. There is nothing like a deployment to make you appreciate home.
Until my next adventure.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Not so different
My first thought when I stepped off the plane was that I was on a foreign planet. The countryside was so different than anything I had ever seen before. After spending some time, I have found that the Arctic Circle has a lot in common with Arkansas.
I know, you are thinking what about that obvious temperature difference? True it gets a heck of a lot more colder here. Did you know the summers get up to 70? Sure beats the heck out of 100+ heat. Weather is not what I am referring to though.
First of all, these folks are friendly. They are appreciative much like many of my patients back home. They will invite a stranger to dinner or take you on a tour of the town after just meeting you. True Southern hospitality in a different latitude.
Second, they love to go to caribou camp. Sounds a lot like deer camp if you ask me. They are hunters and fisherman. Best of all, the critters are a lot bigger here so double your fun. They eat the things they catch so it is not just for sport.
Third, ATV accidents are nothing new to Arkansans. How many accidents have started with "watch this" or "hold my beer" in Arkansas? Too many. A little bit of common sense goes a long way.
Fourth, kids here will do anything for a sticker. I had a bunch in my pocket at all times. I examed kids without having to hold them down all for something they could put on their shirt. Better yet, the kids here are so excited to get one sticker. None of that I want 2 or 3 stickers requests like I get back home.
Fifth, these folks get excited about wrestling. We get a little crazy over football. I know they are not the same sport but the spirit is the same. After all, where in the tundra would they play football? Wrestling just makes sense because it is inside and physical just like football.
I could go on but you get the point. I have been all over the world. Granted this is in the US but it looks like a foreign country. When you get right down to it, we have a lot in common.
I know, you are thinking what about that obvious temperature difference? True it gets a heck of a lot more colder here. Did you know the summers get up to 70? Sure beats the heck out of 100+ heat. Weather is not what I am referring to though.
First of all, these folks are friendly. They are appreciative much like many of my patients back home. They will invite a stranger to dinner or take you on a tour of the town after just meeting you. True Southern hospitality in a different latitude.
Second, they love to go to caribou camp. Sounds a lot like deer camp if you ask me. They are hunters and fisherman. Best of all, the critters are a lot bigger here so double your fun. They eat the things they catch so it is not just for sport.
Third, ATV accidents are nothing new to Arkansans. How many accidents have started with "watch this" or "hold my beer" in Arkansas? Too many. A little bit of common sense goes a long way.
Fourth, kids here will do anything for a sticker. I had a bunch in my pocket at all times. I examed kids without having to hold them down all for something they could put on their shirt. Better yet, the kids here are so excited to get one sticker. None of that I want 2 or 3 stickers requests like I get back home.
Fifth, these folks get excited about wrestling. We get a little crazy over football. I know they are not the same sport but the spirit is the same. After all, where in the tundra would they play football? Wrestling just makes sense because it is inside and physical just like football.
I could go on but you get the point. I have been all over the world. Granted this is in the US but it looks like a foreign country. When you get right down to it, we have a lot in common.
Medical information
I have been remiss in giving a little background about the medical situation in Northwest Alaska. We are working out of schools in the smaller villages. Kotzebue, where I am stationed, is the large town for the area and has the tertiary care center for the region. The hospital is ran by Maniilaq, the tribe. The politics seem to be similar to Indian Health Services (IHS). The hospital accepts insurance or payment and native Eskimos receive free medical care. Our main purpose is to provide services that are in high demand for the area. It also seems the locals are in favor of seeing an Arctic Care doc for a second opinion on how the civilians doctors are treating them. I found that most of the time I changed minor things and then it was a matter of opinion as to what was the best way to treat a problem.
The ER is small but has a trauma room. One of the top reasons for medical care in the area is trauma, usually by snow mobile or ATV. There are a lot more snow machines and ATVs running on the streets than cars. Combine that with a high rate of alcoholism and you need a trauma bay. All major illnesses or injuries get flown here from the smaller villages. Big problems get pushed on to Anchorage. There is a radio room just off the ER that handles incoming calls from the villages. They direct care and the flow of communication there is constant.
Care in the smaller villages is usually provided by a CHAP. This is a lay person with training in basic EMT skills plus a little more. It's hard to imagine getting critically ill in one of these small villages.
The top illnesses I treated were extremely similar to what I see in Arkansas. It really surprised me. There is a large number of patients with atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergies. Yes, allergies. Folks complained about Spring up there just like we do. I didn't have any allergies problems there. I also didn't see any flowers or trees. Go figure.
There was plenty of hypertension, and I saw several teenagers with it. I don't know if it is an issue with obesity or genetics or both. In the older population there was plenty of diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. Like I said, I felt right at home. My captain, the Rheumatologist, was kept very busy with rheumatoid arthritis. There has to be some genetics at work there.
It is the highest concentration of smokers I have seen in a long time. It would be interesting to see what Eskimos were like before we introduced them to cigarettes, sweets and alcohol.
The ER is small but has a trauma room. One of the top reasons for medical care in the area is trauma, usually by snow mobile or ATV. There are a lot more snow machines and ATVs running on the streets than cars. Combine that with a high rate of alcoholism and you need a trauma bay. All major illnesses or injuries get flown here from the smaller villages. Big problems get pushed on to Anchorage. There is a radio room just off the ER that handles incoming calls from the villages. They direct care and the flow of communication there is constant.
Care in the smaller villages is usually provided by a CHAP. This is a lay person with training in basic EMT skills plus a little more. It's hard to imagine getting critically ill in one of these small villages.
The top illnesses I treated were extremely similar to what I see in Arkansas. It really surprised me. There is a large number of patients with atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergies. Yes, allergies. Folks complained about Spring up there just like we do. I didn't have any allergies problems there. I also didn't see any flowers or trees. Go figure.
There was plenty of hypertension, and I saw several teenagers with it. I don't know if it is an issue with obesity or genetics or both. In the older population there was plenty of diabetes, hypertension and cholesterol. Like I said, I felt right at home. My captain, the Rheumatologist, was kept very busy with rheumatoid arthritis. There has to be some genetics at work there.
It is the highest concentration of smokers I have seen in a long time. It would be interesting to see what Eskimos were like before we introduced them to cigarettes, sweets and alcohol.
Catch my breath
It seems like forever since I wrote. When I left off, we were planning a trip to see the Northern Lights. I got home from work and went to bed by 1900. I got a good solid 5 hours of sleep and felt pretty darn good. Several people were going, some of us dressed warmly and some of them were, well not. We had one army personnel in shorts and another in just a sweatshirt. I seriously asked them if they knew they were in the Arctic circle. The reply? We are army, we are tough.
We made it out to cemetary hill by 0200. The clouds had moved in. It took about 5 minutes for the lesser prepared to get back in the van. After 20 minutes, folks began to give up. I was dressed for staying out awhile so I felt fine. There were a few faint specks of light in the distance. Nothing like a 3 should look like. Foiled by cloud cover. Folks threw in the towel and back down we went.
It was a little hard to go back to sleep. I decided to sleep in and do MRE breakfast in the room. It was nice quiet time. I took a long walk to the clinic. Stopped by the new NPS building and got my passport stamped. Yes I am a National Park nerd. They had 5 stamps for the area.
The clinic was even more crowded thursday. There were additional docs that had flown in from other clinics. Kotzebue is small so space was an issue for most of the day. Plus, there was some confusion on what they should do and they didn't have a clue that I was supposed to be in charge. Not that it would matter to a full bird colonel what I said. My team worked hard and efficiently and got people taken care of. There were a few follow-ups and it was nice to get some closure on some cases. I had a small child with severe atopic dermatitis that had gotten infected on his face. I had a great counselling session with a man whose hypertension was uncontrolled. I don't think anyone had taken the time to explain the consequences to him. At the end of the visit he thanked me and went to get his prescription. A couple of hours later, he reappeared. He greeted me in the hallway and told me that I had added years to his life. In appreciation he presented me with an Ulu that he had made himself. The Ulu is an Eskimo knife. The blade is stainless steel and it has a caribou handle. I almost cried. It is one of the nicest things any patient has said or done for me on one of these trips.
I had arranged for the art gallery to stay open one hour later (5-6PM) thursday so I could shop on my last day after work. About an hour or so before end of clinic, my boss came by to tell me that there was a 1700 meeting that I needed to attend. Problem. Fortunately my Internal medicine captain is a great guy. He told me to go now and he would handle clinic. I took off quick. There were large groups of military personnel going to the gallery. Were they buying my stuff? All these folks in from the villages were roaming free. I walked into the gallery and it was half empty. My only saving grace is that most folks considered the place too pricey to buy anything or else it would all be gone. I was able to purchase everything I went for. The only way to get mammoth is to buy it from a native. It is illegal for the rest of us to go dig it up. I bought myself a piece of fossilized mammoth carved to look like a seal. I also bought a birch basket. Good memories for me.
I hustled back to clinic and they had finished up without me. I love my team and I have made some good friends. I tried to talk my captain and my SRA into crossing to the Guard. Can't blame a person for trying. Off to the meeting I go. All the leads for the different villages are present. We talk about turning in final reports (AARs) and various admin things. The command team is very pleased with how things went. They stress how happy the general staff was on their visit. Finally they hand out a copy of the chalks so we will know when we are flying out. I am on the first chalk! At the end, they give us a large pile of blue folders. Each one has certified orders and a certificate for each of our people and now they need to be distributed. My first thought was I would have loved these at the beginning of the day when all my people were here working. I spend several hours tracking down my team and handing them out. I finally finish around 2000.
My roommate wants to order a pizza to celebrate our last night here. She's been pretty unhappy about how things have gone the entire time. While I have been unhappy with communication issues, I have enjoyed my experience with the people here and would do it again. FYI, a large pizza in the Arctic circle runs 30 dollars. There is one pizza place in town, Bison Pizza, and it is pretty good.
I have thoughts of going out on the ice to see ice fishing. It is the one activity I never got around to. I am all too happy to pack my bags in preparation for leaving. I take one last walk to the large window at the end of the hall to look out on the frozen bay. It is a gorgeous sight.
We made it out to cemetary hill by 0200. The clouds had moved in. It took about 5 minutes for the lesser prepared to get back in the van. After 20 minutes, folks began to give up. I was dressed for staying out awhile so I felt fine. There were a few faint specks of light in the distance. Nothing like a 3 should look like. Foiled by cloud cover. Folks threw in the towel and back down we went.
It was a little hard to go back to sleep. I decided to sleep in and do MRE breakfast in the room. It was nice quiet time. I took a long walk to the clinic. Stopped by the new NPS building and got my passport stamped. Yes I am a National Park nerd. They had 5 stamps for the area.
The clinic was even more crowded thursday. There were additional docs that had flown in from other clinics. Kotzebue is small so space was an issue for most of the day. Plus, there was some confusion on what they should do and they didn't have a clue that I was supposed to be in charge. Not that it would matter to a full bird colonel what I said. My team worked hard and efficiently and got people taken care of. There were a few follow-ups and it was nice to get some closure on some cases. I had a small child with severe atopic dermatitis that had gotten infected on his face. I had a great counselling session with a man whose hypertension was uncontrolled. I don't think anyone had taken the time to explain the consequences to him. At the end of the visit he thanked me and went to get his prescription. A couple of hours later, he reappeared. He greeted me in the hallway and told me that I had added years to his life. In appreciation he presented me with an Ulu that he had made himself. The Ulu is an Eskimo knife. The blade is stainless steel and it has a caribou handle. I almost cried. It is one of the nicest things any patient has said or done for me on one of these trips.
I had arranged for the art gallery to stay open one hour later (5-6PM) thursday so I could shop on my last day after work. About an hour or so before end of clinic, my boss came by to tell me that there was a 1700 meeting that I needed to attend. Problem. Fortunately my Internal medicine captain is a great guy. He told me to go now and he would handle clinic. I took off quick. There were large groups of military personnel going to the gallery. Were they buying my stuff? All these folks in from the villages were roaming free. I walked into the gallery and it was half empty. My only saving grace is that most folks considered the place too pricey to buy anything or else it would all be gone. I was able to purchase everything I went for. The only way to get mammoth is to buy it from a native. It is illegal for the rest of us to go dig it up. I bought myself a piece of fossilized mammoth carved to look like a seal. I also bought a birch basket. Good memories for me.
I hustled back to clinic and they had finished up without me. I love my team and I have made some good friends. I tried to talk my captain and my SRA into crossing to the Guard. Can't blame a person for trying. Off to the meeting I go. All the leads for the different villages are present. We talk about turning in final reports (AARs) and various admin things. The command team is very pleased with how things went. They stress how happy the general staff was on their visit. Finally they hand out a copy of the chalks so we will know when we are flying out. I am on the first chalk! At the end, they give us a large pile of blue folders. Each one has certified orders and a certificate for each of our people and now they need to be distributed. My first thought was I would have loved these at the beginning of the day when all my people were here working. I spend several hours tracking down my team and handing them out. I finally finish around 2000.
My roommate wants to order a pizza to celebrate our last night here. She's been pretty unhappy about how things have gone the entire time. While I have been unhappy with communication issues, I have enjoyed my experience with the people here and would do it again. FYI, a large pizza in the Arctic circle runs 30 dollars. There is one pizza place in town, Bison Pizza, and it is pretty good.
I have thoughts of going out on the ice to see ice fishing. It is the one activity I never got around to. I am all too happy to pack my bags in preparation for leaving. I take one last walk to the large window at the end of the hall to look out on the frozen bay. It is a gorgeous sight.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Two more wake ups
It gets a little tougher each day to get up. I've adjusted to the time change. The problem is falling asleep when it is light outside. It is now light until about 2330.
Clinic started a little slow today. I kept trying to call the gallery to see if I could go buy some souvenirs. Turns out that the lady who runs it is on jury duty this entire week. I get to talk to her when she answers the phone around 1600. She agrees to open the store after hours for us since we are leaving soon. She won't do it today so we settle for thursday. Hope we aren't scheduled for anything in anticipation of leaving.
Lunch time is a pleasant surprise. The staff of the outpatient clinic brought us lunch. There is pizza from the only pizza place in the town. There is fresh fruit and veggie tray too. Sodas are a welcome sight. We thank them multiple times. Everything tastes wonderful. There is even a card signed by all the nurses telling us thank you. It is very sweet.
A new physician has joined us in the clinic. Teams are starting to be brought back in to Kotzebue. There will be more tomorrow joining us for the last day. Since there isn't much to do I guess it is a good way to pass the time.
Tonight will be the Northern Lights. The weather has cleared this afternoon so hopefully we will be able to see. The rating is still a 3 so it should be pretty. I'm planning a nap when I get off work so I can not feel too sleep deprived.
More than anything I am just ready to be home.
Clinic started a little slow today. I kept trying to call the gallery to see if I could go buy some souvenirs. Turns out that the lady who runs it is on jury duty this entire week. I get to talk to her when she answers the phone around 1600. She agrees to open the store after hours for us since we are leaving soon. She won't do it today so we settle for thursday. Hope we aren't scheduled for anything in anticipation of leaving.
Lunch time is a pleasant surprise. The staff of the outpatient clinic brought us lunch. There is pizza from the only pizza place in the town. There is fresh fruit and veggie tray too. Sodas are a welcome sight. We thank them multiple times. Everything tastes wonderful. There is even a card signed by all the nurses telling us thank you. It is very sweet.
A new physician has joined us in the clinic. Teams are starting to be brought back in to Kotzebue. There will be more tomorrow joining us for the last day. Since there isn't much to do I guess it is a good way to pass the time.
Tonight will be the Northern Lights. The weather has cleared this afternoon so hopefully we will be able to see. The rating is still a 3 so it should be pretty. I'm planning a nap when I get off work so I can not feel too sleep deprived.
More than anything I am just ready to be home.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Another day
Another $1.50. I'm adding cost of living for Alaska.
Can't say I have anything tremendous to tell you about. The morning started as usual. Patients started in around 9:30. That's early for around here. There are more cameras here today. Both the ANG and the AFR have taken pictures and asked questions for public affairs. There may a news story about us yet.
We have to tell the patients we are taking a lunch break. Otherwise we could have worked through lunch and beyond. There is a nice mix of pediatric and adult patients to be seen. A variety of problems that keep us hopping. There is a chance of snow each day that we have left. Doesn't sound like it is bad enough to delay our departure.
I have been checking the aurora forecast on a regular basis. They are able to forecast how visible it will be at your location. The range goes from 0 to 9. 0-1 basically means don't bother. A 2 is decent and anything above a 3 is spectacular. Tomorrow will be a 3! I'm so excited. Folks in command are organizing rides to cemetary hill so we won't have to take a 30 minute hike in the early morning hours. I'm ready. I've been staying up until midnight easily the last couple of days. I know I can do 0130 now. Just hope the forecast is right.
The numbers here in clinic are not overwhelming. In fact it is a much easier pace than back home. They pay lodging, travel plus per hour salary for temporary workers. In a couple of years I could easily see myself doing this. I could like in Alaska half the time and Hawaii the other half. I could be somewhat retired, make a good living and travel.
Can't say I have anything tremendous to tell you about. The morning started as usual. Patients started in around 9:30. That's early for around here. There are more cameras here today. Both the ANG and the AFR have taken pictures and asked questions for public affairs. There may a news story about us yet.
We have to tell the patients we are taking a lunch break. Otherwise we could have worked through lunch and beyond. There is a nice mix of pediatric and adult patients to be seen. A variety of problems that keep us hopping. There is a chance of snow each day that we have left. Doesn't sound like it is bad enough to delay our departure.
I have been checking the aurora forecast on a regular basis. They are able to forecast how visible it will be at your location. The range goes from 0 to 9. 0-1 basically means don't bother. A 2 is decent and anything above a 3 is spectacular. Tomorrow will be a 3! I'm so excited. Folks in command are organizing rides to cemetary hill so we won't have to take a 30 minute hike in the early morning hours. I'm ready. I've been staying up until midnight easily the last couple of days. I know I can do 0130 now. Just hope the forecast is right.
The numbers here in clinic are not overwhelming. In fact it is a much easier pace than back home. They pay lodging, travel plus per hour salary for temporary workers. In a couple of years I could easily see myself doing this. I could like in Alaska half the time and Hawaii the other half. I could be somewhat retired, make a good living and travel.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Rounding the corner
We are fast approaching that part of the deployment when you feel you are getting closer to home.
Yesterday when I was typing, I received an invitation to a surprise birthday party for our commander in chief. It was in the gym of the high school across the street. I head on over since I am looking for something to do. We all sit on the bleacher and she is certainly surprised when she arrives. The Northern Lights dancers are there to perform. I am thrilled to see them again. I have my small camera this time so I videotaped several dances. At the end, they do the invitational dance and I get out on the gym floor and learn an Eskimo dance. There is also video evidence of me doing this.
Some of the travelling folks have made it back. One of the Guard guys is back in the armory. I made some friends those first couple of days and I try to look out for the other Guard since there are so few of us. The weather is warm and I switch to a jacket. No more parka for me. We have a nice time and three of us go to do laundry. At the end of dinner, I get him to walk back with me to the hotel. Susan, one of the nurses, is a musher. She has promised to bring her dogsled team over to the hotel to show and give rides. We get there shortly after 2000 and she is there by 2015. There is a small crowd of us waiting for her as word has gotten around. We stand on the ice of the bay as she goes out a short ways and back. Finally it is my turn. I take pictures of the dogs and get a picture of me in the sled. Then we are off. The ride starts with a jerk as she turns the dogs loose. They are so anxious to run. I have my good camera with me and I shoot a few pictures. I am definitely going to blow up one of those for my clinic room wall. I thank her for doing it and she won't take any money. Folks up here are so happy to share traditions with visitors. If you show an interest, they will be a great host.
I try to go to sleep at a decent time. After all I have to go to work in the morning. Despite my best efforts it is still after midnight before I fall asleep. Thankfully there is a Cardinals game on tv.
This morning we discovered that our shuttle to meals has been discontinued. A little late, we take off walking. Food choices are starting to slim down. Eating is going to get real interesting the last couple of days. Add in the travelling teams returning and there won't be much left besides MREs. Glad I packed beef jerky and almond joy.
Clinic gets started and I get a tap on my shoulder. My ANG colonel is standing behind me. He asks what my afternoon looks like. I never know what the schedule will be since it is all walk in. Could I make time for a blackhawk ride? Yes! Clinic time is plenty busy. It is time to leave before I know it. My captain gets to go too. Makes me happy since I would feel guilty after all the hard work he has put in. We get a ride to the hangar and wait for the chopper to come in. We load up and we are off. We fly low enough for a nice view. There are mountains in the horizon and a large body of frozen water under us. The window is splattered with mud so I snap a ton of pics hoping that they will not all have brown spots. It is beautiful. We are so lucky that the army Guard was performing a training run.
The clinic is busting at the seams when we get back but it was worth it. We work until 1815. I'm sitting in the armory after dinner. The food choices are even thinner. It's been a good day. How can you top the last 24 hours?
Yesterday when I was typing, I received an invitation to a surprise birthday party for our commander in chief. It was in the gym of the high school across the street. I head on over since I am looking for something to do. We all sit on the bleacher and she is certainly surprised when she arrives. The Northern Lights dancers are there to perform. I am thrilled to see them again. I have my small camera this time so I videotaped several dances. At the end, they do the invitational dance and I get out on the gym floor and learn an Eskimo dance. There is also video evidence of me doing this.
Some of the travelling folks have made it back. One of the Guard guys is back in the armory. I made some friends those first couple of days and I try to look out for the other Guard since there are so few of us. The weather is warm and I switch to a jacket. No more parka for me. We have a nice time and three of us go to do laundry. At the end of dinner, I get him to walk back with me to the hotel. Susan, one of the nurses, is a musher. She has promised to bring her dogsled team over to the hotel to show and give rides. We get there shortly after 2000 and she is there by 2015. There is a small crowd of us waiting for her as word has gotten around. We stand on the ice of the bay as she goes out a short ways and back. Finally it is my turn. I take pictures of the dogs and get a picture of me in the sled. Then we are off. The ride starts with a jerk as she turns the dogs loose. They are so anxious to run. I have my good camera with me and I shoot a few pictures. I am definitely going to blow up one of those for my clinic room wall. I thank her for doing it and she won't take any money. Folks up here are so happy to share traditions with visitors. If you show an interest, they will be a great host.
I try to go to sleep at a decent time. After all I have to go to work in the morning. Despite my best efforts it is still after midnight before I fall asleep. Thankfully there is a Cardinals game on tv.
This morning we discovered that our shuttle to meals has been discontinued. A little late, we take off walking. Food choices are starting to slim down. Eating is going to get real interesting the last couple of days. Add in the travelling teams returning and there won't be much left besides MREs. Glad I packed beef jerky and almond joy.
Clinic gets started and I get a tap on my shoulder. My ANG colonel is standing behind me. He asks what my afternoon looks like. I never know what the schedule will be since it is all walk in. Could I make time for a blackhawk ride? Yes! Clinic time is plenty busy. It is time to leave before I know it. My captain gets to go too. Makes me happy since I would feel guilty after all the hard work he has put in. We get a ride to the hangar and wait for the chopper to come in. We load up and we are off. We fly low enough for a nice view. There are mountains in the horizon and a large body of frozen water under us. The window is splattered with mud so I snap a ton of pics hoping that they will not all have brown spots. It is beautiful. We are so lucky that the army Guard was performing a training run.
The clinic is busting at the seams when we get back but it was worth it. We work until 1815. I'm sitting in the armory after dinner. The food choices are even thinner. It's been a good day. How can you top the last 24 hours?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
I understand now
The races were pretty much finished by the time I got out to the bay. Did I mention that the races take place on the frozen bay? It is a good flat place to race. There were still small children running around on snow machines. I have seen as young as 5 years old driving one.
I got bored yesterday and ended up taking a nap. I am not a nap person normally. It totally screwed up my sleep schedule. I couldn't fall asleep until 0130. It would have been great for hiking out to see the lights but I had not made arrangements with anyone else and we can't go out alone.
The weather has warmed up. It has to be close to 30 now. Ice and snow are melting like crazy. I slept in until 1000. It was then I realized that I was missing something: my government credit card. I had it out to get checked back into my room. I last remember showing it in my pocket, probably my parka. Since then, I have walked literally all over this town. At some point, I probably knocked it out of my pocket. I called and checked and there are no additional charges on it. I've checked with the hotel as well as lost and found and it has not been turned in. Maybe a local will find it and bring it to the hospital on monday. I need it to check into my room in Anchorage on the way out but there is no way I could get a replacement in time. So, I am busy unpacking and repacking my stuff, checking everything double and triple. In the ultimate scheme of things, it is not the worst thing I could lose here.
I understand now why people here smoke and alcoholism is a problem. Everything is closed. There is literally nothing to do. I've walked down to the armory to use the wifi. I've used up my reading material and walked the town although everything is closed today. I can see how boredom could overwhelm a person. I'm really looking forward to starting back to work tomorrow.
Everytime I do something like this, I get here and wonder why I didn't bring some simple trinkets from Arkansas to hand out to the locals who help us out. So everybody reading this remind me the next time I volunteer to do something. It may be a while after this one so I hope you have good memories.
I got the largest flat rate box I could from the USPS. It is nowhere big enough to send a basket home. I'm now faced with choices. Do I pay 50 bucks to mail a regular box home? Do I hand carry it home?
One of the nurses is supposed to come by the hotel this evening with her sled dog team. I can't wait to see that. Folks have gone ice fishing. I've tried to get hooked up with that. Communication remains difficult and we have such a short time here when we can do things. I cannot imagine living here before internet and television. Guess I am so programmed now to be on the go. I wouldn't mind just sitting but it is hard to find a place to do so alone. Hard to imagine in the Arctic Circle but that is what happens when the military invades.
I got bored yesterday and ended up taking a nap. I am not a nap person normally. It totally screwed up my sleep schedule. I couldn't fall asleep until 0130. It would have been great for hiking out to see the lights but I had not made arrangements with anyone else and we can't go out alone.
The weather has warmed up. It has to be close to 30 now. Ice and snow are melting like crazy. I slept in until 1000. It was then I realized that I was missing something: my government credit card. I had it out to get checked back into my room. I last remember showing it in my pocket, probably my parka. Since then, I have walked literally all over this town. At some point, I probably knocked it out of my pocket. I called and checked and there are no additional charges on it. I've checked with the hotel as well as lost and found and it has not been turned in. Maybe a local will find it and bring it to the hospital on monday. I need it to check into my room in Anchorage on the way out but there is no way I could get a replacement in time. So, I am busy unpacking and repacking my stuff, checking everything double and triple. In the ultimate scheme of things, it is not the worst thing I could lose here.
I understand now why people here smoke and alcoholism is a problem. Everything is closed. There is literally nothing to do. I've walked down to the armory to use the wifi. I've used up my reading material and walked the town although everything is closed today. I can see how boredom could overwhelm a person. I'm really looking forward to starting back to work tomorrow.
Everytime I do something like this, I get here and wonder why I didn't bring some simple trinkets from Arkansas to hand out to the locals who help us out. So everybody reading this remind me the next time I volunteer to do something. It may be a while after this one so I hope you have good memories.
I got the largest flat rate box I could from the USPS. It is nowhere big enough to send a basket home. I'm now faced with choices. Do I pay 50 bucks to mail a regular box home? Do I hand carry it home?
One of the nurses is supposed to come by the hotel this evening with her sled dog team. I can't wait to see that. Folks have gone ice fishing. I've tried to get hooked up with that. Communication remains difficult and we have such a short time here when we can do things. I cannot imagine living here before internet and television. Guess I am so programmed now to be on the go. I wouldn't mind just sitting but it is hard to find a place to do so alone. Hard to imagine in the Arctic Circle but that is what happens when the military invades.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A nicer finish to a bad start
Yesterday, I left work at a decent time, 1700. I went to chow and it was steaks! In general, you get fed a little better when there are distinguished visitors around. It was a little odd because on previous exercises the DVs come to the workplace to see what you are doing. In this instance they meant with hospital administration and attended special activities put on just for them. I happened to find out about one such event and received an invitation from a local nurse. The professional Eskimo dancers, The Northern Lights, put on a performance and the National park service museum. I walked over with one of my guys. I saw several nurses that I recognized from the hospital. This time, they were dressed in traditional garb. They have the boots, the muk luks. The DVs arrived and we all sat down to watch the performance.
The leader started by telling a story. Story telling is an important way of passing down traditions. He told about a time when he was a child in the 1960s. His grandmother had made a beautiful dress. One morning, she called him and his sister outside the tent and told them to sit quietly. She was standing barefoot in the snow. In her hand was a double barrel shotgun from JC Penney catalog. A flock of geese were flying overhead. She gave a call and several of the geese seperated from the flock and landed not far from them. She loaded the gun and had a couple shells in her hand. She shot the sentry goose and the others flew. The shot two more as they took off. The last goose flew overhead and behind her. She looked at the children, pointed the gun behind her, and fired killing the goose. Then she promptly directed the children to start plucking.
After storytelling they did several native dances while the men played drums. It was beautiful and fascinating. I took several pictures with my good camera so you won't be seeing pictures until I get home. Afterwards, we got to tour the visitors center. One of the workers in the clinic was there with her daughter. She could tell I was interested in learning more. She physically took me by the arm and lead me to different exhibits and explained what things were and how they used them. It was incredible to hear first hand and realize that all this was still going on.
When the event ended, she offered me a ride home and I gladly accepted. I'm getting better at walking with 50 pounds of clothing but like the break. She pointed out things and took the long way to show me more of the town. I had been in the room about 5 minutes when she called. She had dropped off her daughter and offered to give me more of a tour. I was downstairs in a minute. We drove to every corner of the town with her as my tour guide. Kotzebue has about 3000 people in it. We drive by the bay and I remark that I have never been someplace where a large body of water is frozen. She parks and takes me out on the ice. There are large branches stuck in the ice to mark where someone has been ice fishing. Not a good place to walk. She then took me to cemetary hill for a view of the town. By now it was 2300 and the sun had finally set. We walked to the top since the snow was too deep to drive. It was definitely colder than when we had started. She was in a light jacket and I was bundled head to toe. An odd contrast. I asked her how cold it was. She guessed it was 2 degrees. This is the coldest I have ever been. Since the winter gets to -50 degrees or more, it was a little cold to her.
This morning I have been to a local store, Rotman's. There I found t-shirts and an eskimo dress for Lydia. We walked to the NPS center but it is only open Monday through Friday. We walk to the grocery store and find a couple more souvenirs. We stop by the post office and pick up a flat rate box. There is a bake sale going on and buy some stuff. I run into several patients along the way. I've tried to catch the snow machine races but I have been given three different start times. As I sit here typing, I've been told they are starting now. That figures. I have stopped in the Bayside inn. The food is a touch expensive but right for this area. They have free wifi so I think it is a great deal.
I run into a couple of guys who went to see the lights. The weather was bad and it was overcast so they could barely see anything. I didn't miss much. My friend and tour guide told me about the lights when we were driving around last night. Once when she was a young girl, she was standing outside with her mother. The lights appeared above them. They were so close she could hear them. The popped and crackled like ice. At times they chimed. It was a once in a lifetime event for her. I can only imagine.
I'm off to the races.
The leader started by telling a story. Story telling is an important way of passing down traditions. He told about a time when he was a child in the 1960s. His grandmother had made a beautiful dress. One morning, she called him and his sister outside the tent and told them to sit quietly. She was standing barefoot in the snow. In her hand was a double barrel shotgun from JC Penney catalog. A flock of geese were flying overhead. She gave a call and several of the geese seperated from the flock and landed not far from them. She loaded the gun and had a couple shells in her hand. She shot the sentry goose and the others flew. The shot two more as they took off. The last goose flew overhead and behind her. She looked at the children, pointed the gun behind her, and fired killing the goose. Then she promptly directed the children to start plucking.
After storytelling they did several native dances while the men played drums. It was beautiful and fascinating. I took several pictures with my good camera so you won't be seeing pictures until I get home. Afterwards, we got to tour the visitors center. One of the workers in the clinic was there with her daughter. She could tell I was interested in learning more. She physically took me by the arm and lead me to different exhibits and explained what things were and how they used them. It was incredible to hear first hand and realize that all this was still going on.
When the event ended, she offered me a ride home and I gladly accepted. I'm getting better at walking with 50 pounds of clothing but like the break. She pointed out things and took the long way to show me more of the town. I had been in the room about 5 minutes when she called. She had dropped off her daughter and offered to give me more of a tour. I was downstairs in a minute. We drove to every corner of the town with her as my tour guide. Kotzebue has about 3000 people in it. We drive by the bay and I remark that I have never been someplace where a large body of water is frozen. She parks and takes me out on the ice. There are large branches stuck in the ice to mark where someone has been ice fishing. Not a good place to walk. She then took me to cemetary hill for a view of the town. By now it was 2300 and the sun had finally set. We walked to the top since the snow was too deep to drive. It was definitely colder than when we had started. She was in a light jacket and I was bundled head to toe. An odd contrast. I asked her how cold it was. She guessed it was 2 degrees. This is the coldest I have ever been. Since the winter gets to -50 degrees or more, it was a little cold to her.
This morning I have been to a local store, Rotman's. There I found t-shirts and an eskimo dress for Lydia. We walked to the NPS center but it is only open Monday through Friday. We walk to the grocery store and find a couple more souvenirs. We stop by the post office and pick up a flat rate box. There is a bake sale going on and buy some stuff. I run into several patients along the way. I've tried to catch the snow machine races but I have been given three different start times. As I sit here typing, I've been told they are starting now. That figures. I have stopped in the Bayside inn. The food is a touch expensive but right for this area. They have free wifi so I think it is a great deal.
I run into a couple of guys who went to see the lights. The weather was bad and it was overcast so they could barely see anything. I didn't miss much. My friend and tour guide told me about the lights when we were driving around last night. Once when she was a young girl, she was standing outside with her mother. The lights appeared above them. They were so close she could hear them. The popped and crackled like ice. At times they chimed. It was a once in a lifetime event for her. I can only imagine.
I'm off to the races.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Surprise!
Just when you think its safe to get comfortable in a routine, that's when they get you. I woke myself up coughing this morning at 4 AM. I got up to go to the bathroom and there was a note slid under the door. It said in a nutshell that due to the incoming DVs (distinguished visitors) my roommate and I were being asked to check out of the hotel and move to the armory. Now, I knew that the generals were expected this weekend. I also knew that SOME people would have to move. The last thing I expected was that I, a LtC, would have to move. I laid in bed for awhile stewing. It really bothered me that had I known last night I would have packed. Now I'm stuck trying to pack and get ready for work. In addition, I awoke quite emotional since it is Lydia's birthday. I laid in bed and cried.
My roommate wakes up an hour later and promptly informs me that she had heard through the rumor mill yesterday that this would happen. She assumed I knew since I am high ranking. Apparently I don't rank that high.
The instructions are to check out before going to breakfast or work. So we get packed up and take the luggage down. We stand in line to check out. Despite telling myself to stay calm, I can't help but make smart alec remarks to anyone who dares talk to me. As I talk to those around me, I discover that there are several lower ranking folks including enlisted who are staying in their rooms. Matter of fact, I outrank all of them. Plus, it is not just a certain floor. We are scattered across all three floors. Now I am livid. I cannot think of any good reason why this is happen. Since all the male providers are still in their rooms, I feel particularly disrespected. I get on the van to go to the armory. I throw my stuff in a corner, literally. When they call for rides to the hospital, I am the first to volunteer. When my roommate asks me about breakfast, I tell her I am too mad to eat. The driver can clearly hear me.
I round on my pediatric inpatient and get to do his discharge. I promised his mom I would see him and I do. I then report to the high school to do school physicals as directed yesterday. By then, I run into my boss. He asks about my morning, and I tell him that I skipped breakfast to round. I felt rushed for time since I was kicked out of my room. He insists I go get food. I run into my ANG liason and promptly tell him that something is definitely wrong and he should find out what it is. By lunchtime, I have done 17 physicals and head back to the hospital to finish my discharge paperwork. I run into one of the command officers, a LtC. He proceeds to apologize profusely and tell me that I can go check back into my room. There has been a mistake. The apology makes me feel surprisingly better. I'm not sure whose mistake it is or why. I don't need to know. I threw a fit, didn't get in trouble, and got shown some respect. I tell my roommate who immediately offers to help me move my bags back.
After moving back in, we try to make a hasty retreat to clinic. I'm late to start my afternoon. We round the corner of the hotel and of course run smack into the commander and a 2 star general. I snap to attention and say hello sir. He doesn't really acknowledge us. Thank God. We are off to the clinic.
Folks in the clinic were happy to see me. Good to know that I do good enough work that they appreciate it. I see a 3 year old with a huge abscess in his armpit. We have to hold him down and drain it. 75cc came out! He will come back and see me on monday. Another lady tells me about numbness in her finger. She tells me how she cut it to "let the air out". I knew there had to be home remedies around here and I finally find some.
I get to see a couple of cute babies. The sun is shining outside. I am back to my old self cracking jokes and smiling. It is the simple things that make me happy on deployments. Respect is important. A little privacy is a close second.
Happy birthday my baby!
My roommate wakes up an hour later and promptly informs me that she had heard through the rumor mill yesterday that this would happen. She assumed I knew since I am high ranking. Apparently I don't rank that high.
The instructions are to check out before going to breakfast or work. So we get packed up and take the luggage down. We stand in line to check out. Despite telling myself to stay calm, I can't help but make smart alec remarks to anyone who dares talk to me. As I talk to those around me, I discover that there are several lower ranking folks including enlisted who are staying in their rooms. Matter of fact, I outrank all of them. Plus, it is not just a certain floor. We are scattered across all three floors. Now I am livid. I cannot think of any good reason why this is happen. Since all the male providers are still in their rooms, I feel particularly disrespected. I get on the van to go to the armory. I throw my stuff in a corner, literally. When they call for rides to the hospital, I am the first to volunteer. When my roommate asks me about breakfast, I tell her I am too mad to eat. The driver can clearly hear me.
I round on my pediatric inpatient and get to do his discharge. I promised his mom I would see him and I do. I then report to the high school to do school physicals as directed yesterday. By then, I run into my boss. He asks about my morning, and I tell him that I skipped breakfast to round. I felt rushed for time since I was kicked out of my room. He insists I go get food. I run into my ANG liason and promptly tell him that something is definitely wrong and he should find out what it is. By lunchtime, I have done 17 physicals and head back to the hospital to finish my discharge paperwork. I run into one of the command officers, a LtC. He proceeds to apologize profusely and tell me that I can go check back into my room. There has been a mistake. The apology makes me feel surprisingly better. I'm not sure whose mistake it is or why. I don't need to know. I threw a fit, didn't get in trouble, and got shown some respect. I tell my roommate who immediately offers to help me move my bags back.
After moving back in, we try to make a hasty retreat to clinic. I'm late to start my afternoon. We round the corner of the hotel and of course run smack into the commander and a 2 star general. I snap to attention and say hello sir. He doesn't really acknowledge us. Thank God. We are off to the clinic.
Folks in the clinic were happy to see me. Good to know that I do good enough work that they appreciate it. I see a 3 year old with a huge abscess in his armpit. We have to hold him down and drain it. 75cc came out! He will come back and see me on monday. Another lady tells me about numbness in her finger. She tells me how she cut it to "let the air out". I knew there had to be home remedies around here and I finally find some.
I get to see a couple of cute babies. The sun is shining outside. I am back to my old self cracking jokes and smiling. It is the simple things that make me happy on deployments. Respect is important. A little privacy is a close second.
Happy birthday my baby!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Getting into a routine
Everyday it snows. Now this is something I expected. Yet, the locals say it is unusual. They keep talking about it being spring and how warm it is. It was 7 degrees this AM! The services folks have been making us omelets for breakfast. It is interesting with powder eggs but it takes pretty good. I get my postcards mailed off. There is a post office here so what a cool postmark. I wonder if how long I will be home before they show up.
Yaktrax are the coolest invention ever. They are metal coils and they stretch across the bottom of your shoes. They give you traction in ice or snow. I have no idea why they are not more popular in Arkansas when it ices over. I have kept fairly good balance walking all over this town.
There were no meetings this morning. I joined up with 2 of my guys and we took off walking to find the art gallery in town. It is where several of the local artisans place their stuff to sell. I've heard about it and that it is expensive. A ride comes along and we are off. The gallery is modest size but the artwork is amazing. There are pieces of balleen that have animals carved into it. Balleen is the gum of a whale that filters the food for them to eat. There are earrings carved out of ivory or made of beads. There are small carvings of seals and different animals made of ivory or antler. There is even mammoth! Larger carvings are made out of whale vertebrae. There are slippers made of seal and beadwork. Last but not least are baskets woven of birch bark. It is all so exotic and beautiful. I could spend a lot of money here. The cheapest thing is the beaded earrings at 20 and it goes straight up from there. I ask myself, how often are you going to be in the Arctic Circle? I decide to walk away, think about it, and return tomorrow to purchase.
We return in time for the patients to start filtering in. The numbers are more manageable today. I play with the cutest Eskimo baby. The ANG public affairs guy wants to shoot some footage of me in action. The mother gives her approval and I get to play with him all over again. I think it will air on the Air Force news. I would love to get a copy of it. After clinic the PA guy is coming back to interview me.
People continue to be appreciative. Some of the kids are so excited to meet an Army girl. I nicely tell them I am an Air Force girl. Funny they didn't know that there were girls in the military period. We haven't come very far have we? Anyway, it excites them to talk to us and I get high fives.
I've learned that you can become infested with worms if you eat the fish and it is not cooked well. Had a patient come in complaining of just that. She even brought a stool sample. I was so excited I finished seeing her and ran down to the lab to see if I could see the worm. The tech dug all through the stuff and there was no worm to be found. Bummer.
I have found out that I am being pulled tomorrow to help with physicals at the local high school and junior high. A definite change of pace. I'll be working with my boss and a couple of others. There are snow machine races scheduled for this weekend. Thank goodness for entertainment since most stores close on the weekend. I've heard rumor that the locals will be performing a native dance for us on friday. I've got the camera ready.
The sun has come out this afternoon. It is so wonderful to see. Some folks actually wear shorts in this.
Yaktrax are the coolest invention ever. They are metal coils and they stretch across the bottom of your shoes. They give you traction in ice or snow. I have no idea why they are not more popular in Arkansas when it ices over. I have kept fairly good balance walking all over this town.
There were no meetings this morning. I joined up with 2 of my guys and we took off walking to find the art gallery in town. It is where several of the local artisans place their stuff to sell. I've heard about it and that it is expensive. A ride comes along and we are off. The gallery is modest size but the artwork is amazing. There are pieces of balleen that have animals carved into it. Balleen is the gum of a whale that filters the food for them to eat. There are earrings carved out of ivory or made of beads. There are small carvings of seals and different animals made of ivory or antler. There is even mammoth! Larger carvings are made out of whale vertebrae. There are slippers made of seal and beadwork. Last but not least are baskets woven of birch bark. It is all so exotic and beautiful. I could spend a lot of money here. The cheapest thing is the beaded earrings at 20 and it goes straight up from there. I ask myself, how often are you going to be in the Arctic Circle? I decide to walk away, think about it, and return tomorrow to purchase.
We return in time for the patients to start filtering in. The numbers are more manageable today. I play with the cutest Eskimo baby. The ANG public affairs guy wants to shoot some footage of me in action. The mother gives her approval and I get to play with him all over again. I think it will air on the Air Force news. I would love to get a copy of it. After clinic the PA guy is coming back to interview me.
People continue to be appreciative. Some of the kids are so excited to meet an Army girl. I nicely tell them I am an Air Force girl. Funny they didn't know that there were girls in the military period. We haven't come very far have we? Anyway, it excites them to talk to us and I get high fives.
I've learned that you can become infested with worms if you eat the fish and it is not cooked well. Had a patient come in complaining of just that. She even brought a stool sample. I was so excited I finished seeing her and ran down to the lab to see if I could see the worm. The tech dug all through the stuff and there was no worm to be found. Bummer.
I have found out that I am being pulled tomorrow to help with physicals at the local high school and junior high. A definite change of pace. I'll be working with my boss and a couple of others. There are snow machine races scheduled for this weekend. Thank goodness for entertainment since most stores close on the weekend. I've heard rumor that the locals will be performing a native dance for us on friday. I've got the camera ready.
The sun has come out this afternoon. It is so wonderful to see. Some folks actually wear shorts in this.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Always a surprise
This morning started with grand rounds. That's where all the docs sit around and discuss the patients and events of the last 24 hours. There seemed to be an unusually high number of psych patients. I hadn't really thought about mental illness in this population. Towards the end, one of the docs said something about me getting report on the six new inpatients since I was going to be the hospitalist for the duration. This is news to me. My boss had told me we were to be strictly inpatient. This caused a flurry of concern but the dust eventually settled. I rounded on one patient that I really wanted to see. A pediatric admit is right up my alley. I felt quite useful since it was a submandibular abscess and I was able to correct the antibiotics to the correct coverage.
Other small changes kept me busy. One of my nurses got moved to recovery room. She had been working as a nurse practioner but come to find out she doesn't have the correct credentials in the military for that.
The patients are coming in earlier now. Thanks to the radio ads we are busting at the seams. Next thing I know, its lunch at we are working through it. The Cpt and I are doing the bulk of it and we make a rotation for eating. The MREs are starting to get a little old. I like them at first but one can only eat so much peanut butter.
There were some interesting things to see. I had one patient answer me by raising her eyebrows. That means yes. Wrinkling the nose means no. She had an incredible case of frostbite. I've never seen that in person. There are a couple of broken bones. Extremely common place here since they slip on the ice and wreck snow machines. I get to see a few kids. The mothers are giddy when they find out I am a pediatrician. I play with some adorable babies and hand out stickers. Stickers are way cooler here than they are back home. Kids back home are used to them now I guess. They ask for 3 or 4 of them in AR. Here they are happy to have one.
There is an incredible amount of rheumatoid arthritis. There must be something genetic going on. I followed up on one patient that I saw yesterday. I was convinced he had cancer in his stomach. The EGD was negative. His lab came back way too anemic and I also asked the GI docs to transfuse him. I spent awhile talking to his wife again. She has invited me to visit her house and see their sled dogs.
I have discovered that the northern lights can be seen from here. Unfortunately they show around 2AM and you have to go up cemetary hill. I am determined to stay up late enough to see them. One of the travelling nurses has a new Canon SLR camera and I offer to teach her how to use it if she will show me some stuff. They are organizing a sled ride for some of the other docs. There is cool stuff to do and I want to see more than just this hospital.
We finished with patients at 1700. I guess you can finish on time if you work through lunch.
Other small changes kept me busy. One of my nurses got moved to recovery room. She had been working as a nurse practioner but come to find out she doesn't have the correct credentials in the military for that.
The patients are coming in earlier now. Thanks to the radio ads we are busting at the seams. Next thing I know, its lunch at we are working through it. The Cpt and I are doing the bulk of it and we make a rotation for eating. The MREs are starting to get a little old. I like them at first but one can only eat so much peanut butter.
There were some interesting things to see. I had one patient answer me by raising her eyebrows. That means yes. Wrinkling the nose means no. She had an incredible case of frostbite. I've never seen that in person. There are a couple of broken bones. Extremely common place here since they slip on the ice and wreck snow machines. I get to see a few kids. The mothers are giddy when they find out I am a pediatrician. I play with some adorable babies and hand out stickers. Stickers are way cooler here than they are back home. Kids back home are used to them now I guess. They ask for 3 or 4 of them in AR. Here they are happy to have one.
There is an incredible amount of rheumatoid arthritis. There must be something genetic going on. I followed up on one patient that I saw yesterday. I was convinced he had cancer in his stomach. The EGD was negative. His lab came back way too anemic and I also asked the GI docs to transfuse him. I spent awhile talking to his wife again. She has invited me to visit her house and see their sled dogs.
I have discovered that the northern lights can be seen from here. Unfortunately they show around 2AM and you have to go up cemetary hill. I am determined to stay up late enough to see them. One of the travelling nurses has a new Canon SLR camera and I offer to teach her how to use it if she will show me some stuff. They are organizing a sled ride for some of the other docs. There is cool stuff to do and I want to see more than just this hospital.
We finished with patients at 1700. I guess you can finish on time if you work through lunch.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Clinic
I woke up a little more rested. I tried to stay up to see the sunset and couldn't do it. I fell asleep at 2200. I asked a nurse what time the sun sets and she told me 2300. I was close. I'm curious what it looks like. The sunsets in Anchorage were blue. I'm used to pink and purple at home.
The nurses who work the floor are mostly travellers. One of them is from Lakeview, AR. She lives just a couple miles away from my parents but doesn't recognize the name. Not surprisingly, it pays pretty well to work here and there is loan forgiveness too. They get six weeks of vacation so they get a break.
The medical records folks couldn't pull my records. I have the nurse call them and they just can't get to it today. Seriously? So I just try to remember my patients to the best of my ability and assign codes. Some are easier to remember than others. Like the guy with MRSA abscesses who put caribou fat on the abscess to treat it. Others are gone from my memory.
The internet at the hospital is not accessible today. The desktops work but not the wifi. I'm disappointed because I typed up this wonderful blog last night before bed and I saved it to Word. I was so proud of myself for being efficient. Now I have no way to post it. By the time you see this I have made my way to the armory where there is working wifi.
I see a total of 17 patients today. It's frustrating that they don't show up until late afternoon so we are slow and then incredibly busy. The clinic just does walk ins so there are no appointments to space them out and help flow. Painful. I don't see how I will ever finish before 1800 on any given day. I have discovered there is a local museum. It's not open on the weekend so I have to find a time to go to it. It's open when they feel like it. Can't go too early.
I've got a guy who is still complaining loudly that he didn't get to go to a village. I try to find something neat for him to do. I get him assigned to watching the scopes. There is so much to see there. A couple of the Point Hope folks come by to help out. The doctor (colonel) doesn't seem very interested in being there. Think he was probably "invited" by the boss. He doesn't stay long. Two of the village teams get out today. Point Hope gets called to the airport and then is aborted at the last second.
My roommate noticed that her duffle bags were messed with one the first day. She hasn't bothered to check to see if anything is missing. When we returned on that day, we noticed that the door was not closed. I kept my luggage locked and it appears undisturbed. Another of mine says her glasses are missing. I report these to the LTC in charge of operations. They promise to look into it.
At the end of the day, I go to turn in my reports for this day. The chief doctor isn't around to receive them but the chief over everything is. She introduces herself because we haven't formally met. She mentions that she has heard nothing but good things about me. I'm not sure who she has been talking to but I'm glad I didn't make them mad.
My rheumatology captain and I have made a pact to go find the museum and the arts and crafts. I really need to find something cool to buy and I want to learn something about the culture. He's a good guy. A bit quiet but a hard worker. One of the patients today had a splinter in his finger for the last month. We dig it out and he is thrilled. He wants to take the Sgt and I on a jeep ride to the outskirts of town to let us see what the Arctic really looks like. The weekend would be the best time. I hope that he follows through.
The nurses who work the floor are mostly travellers. One of them is from Lakeview, AR. She lives just a couple miles away from my parents but doesn't recognize the name. Not surprisingly, it pays pretty well to work here and there is loan forgiveness too. They get six weeks of vacation so they get a break.
The medical records folks couldn't pull my records. I have the nurse call them and they just can't get to it today. Seriously? So I just try to remember my patients to the best of my ability and assign codes. Some are easier to remember than others. Like the guy with MRSA abscesses who put caribou fat on the abscess to treat it. Others are gone from my memory.
The internet at the hospital is not accessible today. The desktops work but not the wifi. I'm disappointed because I typed up this wonderful blog last night before bed and I saved it to Word. I was so proud of myself for being efficient. Now I have no way to post it. By the time you see this I have made my way to the armory where there is working wifi.
I see a total of 17 patients today. It's frustrating that they don't show up until late afternoon so we are slow and then incredibly busy. The clinic just does walk ins so there are no appointments to space them out and help flow. Painful. I don't see how I will ever finish before 1800 on any given day. I have discovered there is a local museum. It's not open on the weekend so I have to find a time to go to it. It's open when they feel like it. Can't go too early.
I've got a guy who is still complaining loudly that he didn't get to go to a village. I try to find something neat for him to do. I get him assigned to watching the scopes. There is so much to see there. A couple of the Point Hope folks come by to help out. The doctor (colonel) doesn't seem very interested in being there. Think he was probably "invited" by the boss. He doesn't stay long. Two of the village teams get out today. Point Hope gets called to the airport and then is aborted at the last second.
My roommate noticed that her duffle bags were messed with one the first day. She hasn't bothered to check to see if anything is missing. When we returned on that day, we noticed that the door was not closed. I kept my luggage locked and it appears undisturbed. Another of mine says her glasses are missing. I report these to the LTC in charge of operations. They promise to look into it.
At the end of the day, I go to turn in my reports for this day. The chief doctor isn't around to receive them but the chief over everything is. She introduces herself because we haven't formally met. She mentions that she has heard nothing but good things about me. I'm not sure who she has been talking to but I'm glad I didn't make them mad.
My rheumatology captain and I have made a pact to go find the museum and the arts and crafts. I really need to find something cool to buy and I want to learn something about the culture. He's a good guy. A bit quiet but a hard worker. One of the patients today had a splinter in his finger for the last month. We dig it out and he is thrilled. He wants to take the Sgt and I on a jeep ride to the outskirts of town to let us see what the Arctic really looks like. The weekend would be the best time. I hope that he follows through.
Down to business
Written 4/12/10
After clinic, we went to clinic to get to see some patients. the first patient is non-Indian. A bit of a let down. My first thought is why did he decide to live here? I don't ask though. He seems a bit quirky. I imagine that living in the arctic might make one a bit private. The subsequent patients are Eskimo. The conversations are different than in the lower 48. There is a pause before they answer. They don't raise their voices. The accent is almost a mumble at times. Initially there is eye contact but it is not sustained. In turn I look initially and then look away. At home, the lack of eye contact would instill distrust. Here it is respect. The diagnosis is mostly mundane. We do preoperative screenings before patients have their colonoscopies. We have three gastroenterologists doing scopes while we are here. There is an extremely high rate of colon and stomach cancer in the Eskimo population. In their first day, they have already diagnosed one colon cancer.
I only got to see one pediatric patient. Apparently there is not a lot of them to be seen on any given day. I handed out a couple of stickers. They were very popular. There weren't very many excited cases. The Rheumatologist with me is already injecting joints and getting appointment requests. I suspect that our numbers will continue to climb as word gets out. After all, they announced us on the radio.
I was given the sitrep packet at lunchtime. It stands for situational report. The OIC has to complete a report once a day. There weren't any instructions verbally. It seemed fairly straight forward. After all I have done something similar for the ANG. I ask the other providers to keep track of the number of patients they have seen. At the end of the day, the chief doctor came by to check on us. He asked if I had gotten the information. I told him I had the packet but no instruction. It is then that he informs me that he also needs the CPT codes and not just the numbers. For lay people, that means the code assigned in billing to represent the complexity of the visit and therefore the monetary value. The ARF unlike the ANG has to calculate the monetary value of the work done here. The interesting part is that we are to code each visit as a new patient. This adds substantially more value than if we coded them as an established patient in the clinic. While the patients are new to me they are not new to the clinic. In the private world, I would never do this because it could be construed as fraud. Since no insurance or patient is being charged there is nothing illegal. I do think it is an interesting way to pad your stats. It is not my first time to encounter this practice. The army utilizes this system as well when we are deployed to the VA to work with them.
Since I am done for the day, I had the medical records department called and asked to pull charts. In the morning, I and the others will go back and figure out our codes. Basically I will start behind for the day. The report has to be in by 1000. Good thing the clinic doesn't start until 1000. Did I mention that? Patients don't get up early in these parts. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the sun doesn't set until 2300. Lunch is at 1200 and the day ends at 1700. Somehow we can't get finished until 1800.
A couple of village teams were able to helicopter out today. There are three teams remaining due to weather. One team, Point Hope, may be in jeopardy of going at all. They are the largest team. The wind is howling and the snow is coming down. Maybe being assigned to the main village isn't such a bad thing after all. Everyone here tells us how happy we are here. The staff even more than the patients. The patients specifically request the "Military docs". We are quite popular. It's funny how they assume we have all been to Iraq. That question is far more common here than at home.
Tomorrow is another day.
After clinic, we went to clinic to get to see some patients. the first patient is non-Indian. A bit of a let down. My first thought is why did he decide to live here? I don't ask though. He seems a bit quirky. I imagine that living in the arctic might make one a bit private. The subsequent patients are Eskimo. The conversations are different than in the lower 48. There is a pause before they answer. They don't raise their voices. The accent is almost a mumble at times. Initially there is eye contact but it is not sustained. In turn I look initially and then look away. At home, the lack of eye contact would instill distrust. Here it is respect. The diagnosis is mostly mundane. We do preoperative screenings before patients have their colonoscopies. We have three gastroenterologists doing scopes while we are here. There is an extremely high rate of colon and stomach cancer in the Eskimo population. In their first day, they have already diagnosed one colon cancer.
I only got to see one pediatric patient. Apparently there is not a lot of them to be seen on any given day. I handed out a couple of stickers. They were very popular. There weren't very many excited cases. The Rheumatologist with me is already injecting joints and getting appointment requests. I suspect that our numbers will continue to climb as word gets out. After all, they announced us on the radio.
I was given the sitrep packet at lunchtime. It stands for situational report. The OIC has to complete a report once a day. There weren't any instructions verbally. It seemed fairly straight forward. After all I have done something similar for the ANG. I ask the other providers to keep track of the number of patients they have seen. At the end of the day, the chief doctor came by to check on us. He asked if I had gotten the information. I told him I had the packet but no instruction. It is then that he informs me that he also needs the CPT codes and not just the numbers. For lay people, that means the code assigned in billing to represent the complexity of the visit and therefore the monetary value. The ARF unlike the ANG has to calculate the monetary value of the work done here. The interesting part is that we are to code each visit as a new patient. This adds substantially more value than if we coded them as an established patient in the clinic. While the patients are new to me they are not new to the clinic. In the private world, I would never do this because it could be construed as fraud. Since no insurance or patient is being charged there is nothing illegal. I do think it is an interesting way to pad your stats. It is not my first time to encounter this practice. The army utilizes this system as well when we are deployed to the VA to work with them.
Since I am done for the day, I had the medical records department called and asked to pull charts. In the morning, I and the others will go back and figure out our codes. Basically I will start behind for the day. The report has to be in by 1000. Good thing the clinic doesn't start until 1000. Did I mention that? Patients don't get up early in these parts. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the sun doesn't set until 2300. Lunch is at 1200 and the day ends at 1700. Somehow we can't get finished until 1800.
A couple of village teams were able to helicopter out today. There are three teams remaining due to weather. One team, Point Hope, may be in jeopardy of going at all. They are the largest team. The wind is howling and the snow is coming down. Maybe being assigned to the main village isn't such a bad thing after all. Everyone here tells us how happy we are here. The staff even more than the patients. The patients specifically request the "Military docs". We are quite popular. It's funny how they assume we have all been to Iraq. That question is far more common here than at home.
Tomorrow is another day.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The snow settles
So when I last wrote, I was tired and stuck in a hospital lobby. The actual training that we were brought over to do took all of 5 minutes. We were then taken once again to the armory. I began to realize that I was not going to get anywhere fast. I grabbed an MRE and started to heat it up. For civilians, we actually have a heater in a green plastic bag. You add a small amount of water and your food pouch and it starts smoking and heating your meal. I found one of my guys and discovered that everybody staying at Kotzebue had been transported to the hotel for check in. He wants to call his wife and let her know that we made it so I loan him my phone. ATT is the only coverage here. I then overhear a Navy commander arranging a ride to go find his lost luggage. I'm so all over that. I grab my stuff and wrangle a ride to the hotel.
It's an interesting building to say the least. Better yet, it runs 200 dollars a night! I check in and find that I indeed have a roommate and I don't recognize the name. I go up to see my room, finally. The roommate isn't here yet so I get to choose my bed. It's 100 degrees in the room and thermostat doesn't work so I pick the bed farthest away from the wall heater. I start emptying out pockets and in a panic realize I don't have my cell phone! Dane never gave it back and I ran away. I go running back downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor). I find the guy that gave me ride and head back to the armory. Mind you, in my rush I forgot my parka and cold weather gear. Back at the armory, I find Dane and my cell phone. My goal is to go back to my room and unpack. Can't walk back without my gear. The Sgt who gave the ride informs me that the vehicles are for command transportation and that giving us rides is not the real purpose. Funny, I thought you were supposed to take care of your people first as a priority. There is a major heading out and I bum a ride off of him.
Back at the hotel I finally unpack. I just don't feel settled until I have my stuff ready for my routine. Now it is dinner time. All meals for us are served at the armory. I find a familiar face and we head out walking. The temperature today has been nice. The sun is shining and it is 27 degrees. The locals travel mainly by snow machine. They may or may not slow down for pedestrians. They also like to gun it when they pass you and you get sprayed by snow.
Dinner is group rations. I don't care since I never got to eat my MRE due to my forgetfullness. After dinner, my buddy and I check out the only grocery store. I am kicking myself for not packing gatorade. Water gets old to me in 2 weeks. In a splurge moment, we decide to buy a 12 pack of sprite to split. It is 12 dollars. A good investment in my mental health. We also take pictures in front. My buddy is carrying a flat stanley as am I for Lydia. So now Flat has his picture in Kotzebue. We also pick up a couple of postcards. Exhaustion catches up with me and it is time to head back.
My roommate is there now. Her name is Rosa Ramirez. She is Puerto Rican from New Jersey. What an accent! She is probably the nicest roommate I have had on a deployment in a long time. Heck of a talker. I think I just finally fell asleep at some point. The case of sprite went in the window sill. Better than a fridge. We had the window open to cool the room. That worked well until early AM when we started to get really cold. It didn't get dark until probably 11PM.
This morning, I eat an apple for breakfast that I appropriated yesterday. I go to the lobby for my ride at 0745. Supposed to go to a staff meeting at 0800. The ride appears at 0800. Transportation is an issue still. We get to meet the local doctors and they are visibly excited by our presence. We have spent the morning in orientation. The medical director takes over our training. There seem to be some issues about where people are going and she was not expecting some of us. I sit back for awhile and then I realize that something has to happen. So I start asking questions and making suggestions. When the dust settles, I have gotten a full bird colonel where he wanted to go but didn't speak up for. I have arranged assignments for the med techs and suggested a rotation. I finally introduce myself as the Officer In Charge (OIC) to the group. I realize that I can't tolerate this cluster any longer and I have just created a lot more work for myself. But it was the job assigned to me and I guess I wouldn't have hid from it for very long anyway.
So now it is time for us to start work. It's 1300 and folks are back from lunch. They work from 1000 to 1700 with lunch at 1200. Not bad hours. They aren't early risers here. Hopefully I will actually get to see a patient now.
It's an interesting building to say the least. Better yet, it runs 200 dollars a night! I check in and find that I indeed have a roommate and I don't recognize the name. I go up to see my room, finally. The roommate isn't here yet so I get to choose my bed. It's 100 degrees in the room and thermostat doesn't work so I pick the bed farthest away from the wall heater. I start emptying out pockets and in a panic realize I don't have my cell phone! Dane never gave it back and I ran away. I go running back downstairs (I'm on the 3rd floor). I find the guy that gave me ride and head back to the armory. Mind you, in my rush I forgot my parka and cold weather gear. Back at the armory, I find Dane and my cell phone. My goal is to go back to my room and unpack. Can't walk back without my gear. The Sgt who gave the ride informs me that the vehicles are for command transportation and that giving us rides is not the real purpose. Funny, I thought you were supposed to take care of your people first as a priority. There is a major heading out and I bum a ride off of him.
Back at the hotel I finally unpack. I just don't feel settled until I have my stuff ready for my routine. Now it is dinner time. All meals for us are served at the armory. I find a familiar face and we head out walking. The temperature today has been nice. The sun is shining and it is 27 degrees. The locals travel mainly by snow machine. They may or may not slow down for pedestrians. They also like to gun it when they pass you and you get sprayed by snow.
Dinner is group rations. I don't care since I never got to eat my MRE due to my forgetfullness. After dinner, my buddy and I check out the only grocery store. I am kicking myself for not packing gatorade. Water gets old to me in 2 weeks. In a splurge moment, we decide to buy a 12 pack of sprite to split. It is 12 dollars. A good investment in my mental health. We also take pictures in front. My buddy is carrying a flat stanley as am I for Lydia. So now Flat has his picture in Kotzebue. We also pick up a couple of postcards. Exhaustion catches up with me and it is time to head back.
My roommate is there now. Her name is Rosa Ramirez. She is Puerto Rican from New Jersey. What an accent! She is probably the nicest roommate I have had on a deployment in a long time. Heck of a talker. I think I just finally fell asleep at some point. The case of sprite went in the window sill. Better than a fridge. We had the window open to cool the room. That worked well until early AM when we started to get really cold. It didn't get dark until probably 11PM.
This morning, I eat an apple for breakfast that I appropriated yesterday. I go to the lobby for my ride at 0745. Supposed to go to a staff meeting at 0800. The ride appears at 0800. Transportation is an issue still. We get to meet the local doctors and they are visibly excited by our presence. We have spent the morning in orientation. The medical director takes over our training. There seem to be some issues about where people are going and she was not expecting some of us. I sit back for awhile and then I realize that something has to happen. So I start asking questions and making suggestions. When the dust settles, I have gotten a full bird colonel where he wanted to go but didn't speak up for. I have arranged assignments for the med techs and suggested a rotation. I finally introduce myself as the Officer In Charge (OIC) to the group. I realize that I can't tolerate this cluster any longer and I have just created a lot more work for myself. But it was the job assigned to me and I guess I wouldn't have hid from it for very long anyway.
So now it is time for us to start work. It's 1300 and folks are back from lunch. They work from 1000 to 1700 with lunch at 1200. Not bad hours. They aren't early risers here. Hopefully I will actually get to see a patient now.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Hurry up and wait
That is what I am doing currently, hurry up and wait. My day started at 0300. I got dressed for my day and just for kicks decided to count how many pieces of clothing I put on. Not counting the belt, I have 10 items on. Layers are a good thing. We were supposed to be picked up at 0415 to go to the terminal. That turned into a 0630 ride. I have no idea why. At the terminal we were sold a box lunch. Kind of a monopoly really since I am not going to eat anything unless I brought it. Somehow we managed to get on our buses to go out to the C-130 on time. My backpack weighs 50 pounds at least. I'm trying not to tip over when I walk. The loadmaster gets on the bus to give us our safety briefing. He's from Alabama so I feel right at home with his twang. Next we start loading onto the plane. C-130 seating is fun. There is a long fusalage with seating along the walls. Then they put a center section and have seating there as well. In the end, you have "friends" on both sides of you and across from you. They have seat belts but I don't see the need since you couldn't move if you wanted to. I've shoved the food from the boxes into pockets and eat from time to time.
The flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue is 2 hours for those of you wanting to plan your next vacation. As we approach I start putting on my yaktrax (wire coils on the bottom of boots for traction), parka, gloves, and hat. We step off the plane and the wind is howling. My first thought is that I have landed on the planet Hoth from Star Wars. My next thought is holy crap. They directed us to a shelter area. The ARF continues to be as organized as previously. We are told various instructions that are then changed. I board a bus like I am told and taken to the National Guard Armory. Incredible that there is an ANG unit here. We put our stuff down and wait. The safety briefing starts an hour later. Midway through, they ask if there are any doctors there. Of course, where else would I be? Three of us step forward. You aren't supposed to be here they say. How did you get here? You drove me here. So I grab my backpack and gear and get trucked over to the local clinic. We are supposed to be getting our EMR briefing and password for the computer system.
We arrive in the clinic and introductions are made. They start splitting us up into groups and training. Folks going forward to smaller villages get to go first. I'm staying in Kotzebue so I am in the last group. It's now 1330. No food given since the lunch box was sold to us. No sign of where we will be staying so I am carrying all my gear. Thank goodness a captain discovered the wifi in the clinic so I can write to you and check email. I learned an important lesson in the Army - pogey bait. It's a great slang term for food you always carry with you on deployments. So I am enjoying beef jerky and sour gummy worms. A lack of planning on someone else's part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
The flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue is 2 hours for those of you wanting to plan your next vacation. As we approach I start putting on my yaktrax (wire coils on the bottom of boots for traction), parka, gloves, and hat. We step off the plane and the wind is howling. My first thought is that I have landed on the planet Hoth from Star Wars. My next thought is holy crap. They directed us to a shelter area. The ARF continues to be as organized as previously. We are told various instructions that are then changed. I board a bus like I am told and taken to the National Guard Armory. Incredible that there is an ANG unit here. We put our stuff down and wait. The safety briefing starts an hour later. Midway through, they ask if there are any doctors there. Of course, where else would I be? Three of us step forward. You aren't supposed to be here they say. How did you get here? You drove me here. So I grab my backpack and gear and get trucked over to the local clinic. We are supposed to be getting our EMR briefing and password for the computer system.
We arrive in the clinic and introductions are made. They start splitting us up into groups and training. Folks going forward to smaller villages get to go first. I'm staying in Kotzebue so I am in the last group. It's now 1330. No food given since the lunch box was sold to us. No sign of where we will be staying so I am carrying all my gear. Thank goodness a captain discovered the wifi in the clinic so I can write to you and check email. I learned an important lesson in the Army - pogey bait. It's a great slang term for food you always carry with you on deployments. So I am enjoying beef jerky and sour gummy worms. A lack of planning on someone else's part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Unpredictable as the weather
Life in the military is never predictable. Just when you think you know what will happen next, something completely different happens. We have indeed been cancelled for flight today to Kotzebue. The Air Force Reserve, who will forever more be known as ARF to me, has decided to have us pack our suitcase and duffle bag and turn them in today. Take everything that you need to live and put it in a small backpack. There is a small window at 0430 tomorrow morning and they are going to attempt to fly out if safe. If they miss that window we will be in Anchorage for another couple of days. The C-130s that are supposed to be our ride will have another ride and we will have to scramble to find someone else. No pressure. So they want to pack all of our stuff tonight on pallets so they can move faster in the morning. How does one decide what you can't live without for 3 days? My priorities are clean underwear, my camera, and my laptop and not necessarily in that order. If we miss this window of opportunity we won't be getting the luggage back. Decisions decisions.
Don't know how many of you have flown on a C-130. Its seating is along the fuselage and there is a middle row as well. So you sit there with a person on both sides of you so close that you don't worry about falling over during turbulence. There is someone across from you so your knees are locked in place. There is no overhead storage bin and the backpack you have to put your life into must fit under the small jumpseat you are occupying.
I have figured out from ADVON team that there is limited cell phone access in the villages. No voice mail or text available. There is some internet but I am not sure how often I will be able to access. Hopefully enough to write the daily play by play.
Time to pack and get down to the bare essentials.
Don't know how many of you have flown on a C-130. Its seating is along the fuselage and there is a middle row as well. So you sit there with a person on both sides of you so close that you don't worry about falling over during turbulence. There is someone across from you so your knees are locked in place. There is no overhead storage bin and the backpack you have to put your life into must fit under the small jumpseat you are occupying.
I have figured out from ADVON team that there is limited cell phone access in the villages. No voice mail or text available. There is some internet but I am not sure how often I will be able to access. Hopefully enough to write the daily play by play.
Time to pack and get down to the bare essentials.
80 to 40 in 12 hours
For years, I have satisfied my need for adventure through my military career. When I went to Iraq I decided to keep a journal. I've been journaling each deployment every since. Along the way I started emailing parts to friends who wanted to know more about what I was doing. So this time I thought I would try blogging to see what it is like.
Last fall, I went to drill and the announcement went out that Operation Arctic care was short a few people. They needed two more doctors, both pediatricians. The mission would go in April to the Arctic Circle and provide care to Inupiat Eskimos. Now the Arctic Circle has never been on my vacation wish list but then again most of the places the military sends me are not. It didn't take long to realize that I didn't know anyone who had gone to the Arctic Circle. What a unique experience. So despite my allergy to cold temperatures, I volunteered and was accepted. Time passed and Arkansas had one of its coldest winters on record. I realized that a bad day in Arkansas was a good day in the Arctic Circle and that was an eye opener. Arkansas gradually warmed up to the 80s and it was time for me to leave.
The Air Force issued me cold weather gear thankfully. I packed my largest suitcase and had to sit on it to close it. I resorted to my old Army packing technique; large ziplock bags of clothing with all the air pressed out. It's all worth it if I don't freeze my butt off. One perk of individual deployments is that you get to fly commercial until you meet up with the main body. So Continental was my transportation for 12 hours and three time changes. I left Little Rock at 0630 and it felt like days later when I landed at Anchorage, AK at 1537 local time. It was Spring and 70-80 degrees in Little rock; now it is the breakdown period in Anchorage and a balmy high of 40.
Breakdown period means that it is muddy and brown except where there is snow remaining. The snow has that lovely dirty color where it has been cleared from the roads. Doesn't exactly look like a postcard around Anchorage. The flight in was a different matter. I was sitting on the plane from Seattle trying to imagine what Alaska looked like since this is my first visit here. You simply cannot imagine what you have not seen. After a period of flying over the ocean, mountains emerged. Everything was colored with a virgin white blanket that looked like nothing had touched it. The water was frozen near the land and it had the most interesting patterns. There isn't a good word to describe it. So I snapped a couple of pictures from the airplane. Some of the mountains had trees near the base, still brown since it is not spring yet. The effect was similar to an Oreo with the top off. I just sat and stared.
I'm currently at Elmendorf AFB. I've met the senior officer in charge of those of us who are ANG. Nice guy and it always helps to be friends with the boss. Our liason is a friendly sort. I feel better having someone with transportation and a dining buddy while we wait for the next step. I'm in VOQ which means very nice housing for senior officers on duty. I'm not suffering just yet.
Today, the powers that be are trying to decide when we take the next hop. We are supposed to fly via C-130 to Kotzebue, AK. That will be our base within the Arctic Circle. Surprise, there are snowstorms moving into that area and may delay our departure by 1-2 days. I'm ready to get to work but I never pass up a chance to explore wherever I am. If we get delayed I'm finding a way to get to the Sound and maybe the zoo too. I hear they are pretty cool. I've got my camera so there will be pictures too, don't worry. This is the part of military life that I thrive 0n, adapting to changes on the fly.
So read along for the next 2 weeks. You never know what will happen next.
Last fall, I went to drill and the announcement went out that Operation Arctic care was short a few people. They needed two more doctors, both pediatricians. The mission would go in April to the Arctic Circle and provide care to Inupiat Eskimos. Now the Arctic Circle has never been on my vacation wish list but then again most of the places the military sends me are not. It didn't take long to realize that I didn't know anyone who had gone to the Arctic Circle. What a unique experience. So despite my allergy to cold temperatures, I volunteered and was accepted. Time passed and Arkansas had one of its coldest winters on record. I realized that a bad day in Arkansas was a good day in the Arctic Circle and that was an eye opener. Arkansas gradually warmed up to the 80s and it was time for me to leave.
The Air Force issued me cold weather gear thankfully. I packed my largest suitcase and had to sit on it to close it. I resorted to my old Army packing technique; large ziplock bags of clothing with all the air pressed out. It's all worth it if I don't freeze my butt off. One perk of individual deployments is that you get to fly commercial until you meet up with the main body. So Continental was my transportation for 12 hours and three time changes. I left Little Rock at 0630 and it felt like days later when I landed at Anchorage, AK at 1537 local time. It was Spring and 70-80 degrees in Little rock; now it is the breakdown period in Anchorage and a balmy high of 40.
Breakdown period means that it is muddy and brown except where there is snow remaining. The snow has that lovely dirty color where it has been cleared from the roads. Doesn't exactly look like a postcard around Anchorage. The flight in was a different matter. I was sitting on the plane from Seattle trying to imagine what Alaska looked like since this is my first visit here. You simply cannot imagine what you have not seen. After a period of flying over the ocean, mountains emerged. Everything was colored with a virgin white blanket that looked like nothing had touched it. The water was frozen near the land and it had the most interesting patterns. There isn't a good word to describe it. So I snapped a couple of pictures from the airplane. Some of the mountains had trees near the base, still brown since it is not spring yet. The effect was similar to an Oreo with the top off. I just sat and stared.
I'm currently at Elmendorf AFB. I've met the senior officer in charge of those of us who are ANG. Nice guy and it always helps to be friends with the boss. Our liason is a friendly sort. I feel better having someone with transportation and a dining buddy while we wait for the next step. I'm in VOQ which means very nice housing for senior officers on duty. I'm not suffering just yet.
Today, the powers that be are trying to decide when we take the next hop. We are supposed to fly via C-130 to Kotzebue, AK. That will be our base within the Arctic Circle. Surprise, there are snowstorms moving into that area and may delay our departure by 1-2 days. I'm ready to get to work but I never pass up a chance to explore wherever I am. If we get delayed I'm finding a way to get to the Sound and maybe the zoo too. I hear they are pretty cool. I've got my camera so there will be pictures too, don't worry. This is the part of military life that I thrive 0n, adapting to changes on the fly.
So read along for the next 2 weeks. You never know what will happen next.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)